Expectations T
by HeathenVampires
Summary: Modern AU. The rebel and the golden girl. Two very different walks of life, but one teaches the other a sense of freedom despite the expectations placed upon them. Hiccup/Astrid Hiccstrid four-shot (T rated version of original)
1. Chapter 1

**Hiccstrid three-shot prompt I received! It sounded super fun so I was like nom nom nom prompts are my food gimme.**

 **Most of it will be self-explanatory. College age Hiccstrid... 20-21ish.**

 **I don't think this needs any warning. This is the same as the M rated one, but the smut has been removed as per someones request.**

-HTTYD-

They were so adorably in love. It was gross. Astrid wrinkled her nose even as she laughed, watching Justin and Heather giggle and kiss and hold hands. She was happy for them, but there was only so much PDA she was willing to endure whilst trying to do her work. She had top grades to maintain, after all. Then she had to head up debate club after lunch, and archery class after college... then there was cheerleading to consider.

Astrid liked to excel at everything. Her parents liked that. Her education wasn't cheap, and while her family had sufficient funds Astrid knew she had to prove she was worth the investment. Given that she was also Head Girl and in the top five of every class.. Astrid reckoned she was nailing that. Her parents mostly left her to herself, only really interacted with her more than passing greetings and stilted conversations over dinner if they thought she might be failing somewhere.

Despite juggling all the expectations, the weight of what her parents wanted from her and performing well in class, in extra curricular activities... Astrid was popular. Her friends were good people. Aside from a few bitter enviers, Astrid was well liked at college. Hel, she was practically high society with her wealthy parents, but not the princess people expected for that. She stayed grounded, focused.

And thankfully, the academic year was coming to an end. Astrid was looking to a well-deserved break. As was everyone else - while Astrid ensured all her stuff was in order for over the summer, her friends were talking about their plans for the break.

"It's going to be so cute! I can't wait!"

"Me either."

Heather and Justin were off on a very magical trip for their one year anniversary. Disneyland Paris, to be precise. Astrid thought they were grossly adorable, but she couldn't help be warmed by how Justin looked at Heather like she was what made the sun shine in the sky. It was all she could want for her best friend, really.

"What are you looking forward to most? I'd love to see a giant castle, I would feel like an ant!"

Exactly how the twins were in this college was generally beyond Astrid, though they did pass their exams...

"The food! And the park, obviously. But yeah, the food is meant to be amazing."

Trust Heather to think with her stomach. The woman was a food fiend. Astrid supposed it was fair enough though, she was almost as active as Astrid, but built with a longer, less curvy frame.

"What about you two? Summer plans?"

Ruff and Tuff looked at each other, sharing that smile that generally meant trouble. As Head Girl, she'd been responsible for dozens of talks with them trying to at least get them not to ruin exam periods with their incessant pranks and destruction.

"It's cousin Gruffnut's party"

"And he's a jerk, so"

"We have been planning many surprises!"

"And already planted a few."

"And great uncle Magmar's homemade Nutt juice will be added to fruit punch"

"After we drink some ourselves."

Astrid blinked

"Excuse me. Nut juice?"

Tuff scrunched his face up in thought.

"N u t t. The great Nutt! He makes his own alcohol. Two glasses and you'll be drunk for two days."

Well, Astrid was very glad she wasn't going to _that_ party. She had another thought crop up.

"That drink didn't by any chance result in almost poisoning the entire football team at that party, did it?"

"Bye Astrid!"

The twins made a speedy getaway, leaving the others laughing around the table and shaking their heads at the two Thorston crazies. That whole family was... nutty. Finished organising her work, Astrid closed her folder and leant back.

"What about you Snot face?"

"Me and the Dagster are taking our bikes out on that mountain trip... you're still welcome to come along" Scott gave her his trademark 'flirting face', that made Astrid instinctively cringe inwardly "you can always rent a bike."

Fighting a smile at the mention of motorcycles, Astrid shook her head and shoved his arm away before it could slide around her shoulders.

"You guys are going to reach that whiskey distillery, and never make it any further without crashing your bikes into massive boulders."

"And you know you would want to be there for my dying moments!"

"To hand out cake and celebrate."

Grumbling, Scott shrugged off Astrid's rejection and turned the conversation over to her.

"So what are _your_ plans for the summer?"

Astrid stretched lazily in her chair, a satisfying crack from her spine sounding as she sighed in relaxation.

"Oh, nothing special."

"Yeah, nothing special. With that smile that says 'I am soooo getting laid!' on your face."

Oh. Ruff was back then. Astrid confirmed nor denied anything. However, her friends quickly launched into a discussion about the rumours. The rumours about Astrid's secret love interest. She never gave anyone any details; Heather knew who he was, but she agreed to keep it a secret when she realised the difficult situation of said mystery man.

Astrid was treated to a repeat of the rumours about said mystery boyfriend - some reckoned he was the son of an important politician, disgustingly rich and that they had to stay secret for political appearances. Other rumours included that he was famous, a celebrity who didn't want to be outed as dating someone much younger. Before Astrid could be subjected to further nonsensical speculation, a new topic of conversation had begun to sweep through the college. Someone interesting had appeared at the gate.

"Head teacher has already been outside, but there's no law against him standing on a public path. Nobody here is underage and he isn't harassing anyone."

She overheard someone muttering as they naturally went out to go see who the stranger was. Another person was already saying he looked like a troublemaker. Astrid's curiousity was piqued.

The bike was the first thing anybody noticed. It was impossible to miss. The damn thing looked like a _dragon._ The front of the bike looked like a dragons head, angular with big green headlights and slots under the ears that contained shiny silver handlebars - presumably so he could find them easily. The sides had the distinct shape of folded wings, perfectly fitted to the riders legs so he could mount his dragon. Even the back of the seat had a curled dragon tail shape to it. It was higher than most seats, quite safe-looking as though it would be hard to fall backwards in Astrid's impartial opinion.

"He looks kind of dangerous."

Justin commented, tapping his fingers nervously. Astrid considered the stranger. His hair was shaggy, hung around his shoulders and somehow resistant to helmet hair from the hefty black helmet resting on the seat of his draconic motorcycle. Tall and lean, his body was covered neck to wrist and head to toe in well-worn but sturdy leathers, riding boots on his feet where he had one leg crossed over the other lazily. Even so, his uncovered hands and face told plenty of stories all by themselves. A metal ring curled over his lower lip, a stud glinting on his tongue when he opened his mouth to yawn, looking rather bored in his self-imposed vigil at the college. His earlobes were stretched around scale-patterned plugs, studs and rings curling up over one ear.

Tattoos decorated all exposed skin - his hands bore biomechanical patterns, as though beneath the skin he was more metal than man. A tail curved up around his neck, a tiny dragon over the top of his eyebrow. Under the other eye, there was a tiny little emblem, too small to make out from so far away.

What Astrid could make out from the other side of the fence? There was a gleam in brilliant emerald orbs, a playful smirk on thin lips, dark liner smudged around his eyes.

Nobody catches her small smile, attention firmly on the troublesome looking man.

They left the man stood there, having to go back in so Astrid and the head teacher could give the speech to signal the end of the term. As with every previous year, Astrid was even given a bow and arrow, landing a perfect bullseye in the target as the bell rang to say the day was over. Shouldering her bag, Astrid bade goodbye to her friends and amused herself with watching people give the stranger a wide berth. Even the teachers. Everyone flocked to their flashy cars, or their friends flashy cars, or a few heading off to walk home if they lived close enough or had other plans.

Astrid headed for the stranger.

"Afternoon milady."

"Hey there troublemaker."

She wondered how many people stared on in absolute shock as Astrid kissed him, metal cool against her lip as tattooed hands curled around her back, hauling her against leather that smelled _divine._ Her knees threatened to buckle as he nipped playfully at her lower lip, lifting up to kiss her temple and Astrid smiled.

"Missed you. Ready to go?"

"Mhmm."

The dragon wing to the left also hid a neat little storage compartment, big enough to hold a spare helmet that was handed to Astrid while her bag went into the space left behind. He put his own helmet on after seeing Astrid was safely covered, straddling his bike with those long, lean legs of his... Astrid needed to stop staring. Hopping up behind him, she wrapped arms around his leather-clad torso, felt the dragon beneath them roar to life.

As the bike eased fairly slowly out of the crowded area, Astrid saw her friends. Heather - and Dagur, meaning he probably knew, but Hel now everybody did - were laughing animatedly, while Justin and Scott looked utterly baffled. As they approached a road he could pick up the speed, Astrid heard him call back to her.

"Hold on tight."

-HTTYD-

 **No points for guessing who our mystery man is!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two-ooooo-oooooo.**

 **Largely Hiccup-centric, but there's some Hiccstrid tossed in.**

 **(please remember this is a rebelcup story before you take issue with how this chapter went wrt Stoick)**

-HTTYD-

Being the Mayor's son _sucked._ Hiccup had begun rebelling when he was a child, running out on etiquette lessons and hiding magazines full of motorcycles in his books on politics, so it would look like he was reading important things while really, he was admiring the sleek machines on two wheels. When his dad tried to give him the ultimatum that Hiccup needed to either be something intellectual and high-ranking, like a doctor, or follow in the political footsteps, his mother shielded him with the point that Hiccup was just a boy, and needed time to become himself before he could choose which way he would go.

Hiccup secreted bits of engines and machines into his room, tinkered with them or spent time doodling, designing, picturing even as a child all the ways he could incorporate the art into him, onto his skin. Even then, Hiccup had never really understood why it was important to be 'socially acceptable'.

Losing his mother had only driven he and his father further apart, despite really being all the other had left. It was all very sudden; his mother had been perfectly fine, if a little tired. Then like a lightning bolt, she'd been struck down fast and fierce by sickness. Hiccup had only been fourteen when she died, thin and gangly as he waited for puberty to catch up with him, with her thin hand curled around his while he stood at her bedside. She kept insisting he not be sad, that it wasn't what she wanted for him.

"Promise me. Promise you'll do what makes you happy."

"I promise."

After that, Hiccup and his dad just sort of... existed around each other. However, without his mother there to shield Hiccup from his fathers expectations, he found himself pushed more and more into learning the ropes of the family business, only dodging politics now and then by lying and saying he needed time to study if he was going to be a doctor.

Watching all those people fiddling with the beeping machines, shuffling awkwardly as they worked out how to break the bad news that Valka was dying... that had killed any chance of Hiccup ever becoming a doctor. But it meant his father left him alone to 'study'. He carried on tinkering, drawing, stealing out when his father was busy to visit motorcycle shows, junk yards, art galleries.

All things his dad never really supported.

Things really began to come to a head when Hiccup was eighteen. His mother had took him to get his first ear piercing when he was thirteen, and his dad _still_ didn't know about any of the others, hidden as they were by the thick thatch of hair Hiccup had. But Hiccup's first undertaking as a legal adult was the tattoo across his chest. A soaring owl, dusky blue and dawn orange colours, all wise and strong and _free._ It was in memory of his mother, and only that reasoning got Stoick to leave Hiccup alone about it.

The next tattoo got him in a little more trouble - it was fairly small, a little green dragon he'd drawn himself on his upper arm, but it was visible in t-shirt sleeves. The more his father pushed, the more Hiccup wanted to rebel. He got his other ear pierced, began using stretchers to increase the size of the holes there. Spent more and more time out of the house, growing more and more resentful as his dad shoved him in a tux and dragged him around this party or that, where Hiccup plastered on a smile, distracted himself from the discomfort by thinking of the next tattoo he could get done.

Sure, Hiccup would have liked to get on better with his dad. But not at the expense of himself. He would never be the compliant, 'normal' son. Hiccup had _no_ desire to fit in, to blend in at those parties amongst fifty other people in a suit, all talking boring nonsense that went in one ear and out the other.

Hiccup began to grow his hair longer, enjoying the way it became more and more thick, messy and untameable as it grew. His next tattoos went on his legs, images designed to look as though skin was torn away, revealing dragon scales underneath. As a compromise with his dad, Hiccup attended the events he was supposed to, but his dad didn't complain Hiccup spent time at the garage his friend worked at. The smell of oil and metal and rubber, the sound of metal on metal and the satisfying feeling of fixing a bike or car...

It beat any black tie event by far.

For his nineteenth birthday, Hiccup got his biggest tattoo by far. It took several sittings, countless hours, and it _hurt_ like Hel. But when Hiccup stood with his back to the mirror, twisting to look at the huge black dragon that covered him... it was all worth it. Wings spread to curve around his sides, tail curling up around his neck to peek out of shirt collars. The head of the dragon came out on one cheek of his ass, which amused Hiccup no end. The prowling beast symbolised a lot to Hiccup - hidden, but dark and mysterious, nothing like anybody else.

Exactly what Hiccup felt like when he was at yet another function.

His dad didn't find out about the dragon until it was finished - the tail was the last part completed, and he and Hiccup didn't see a whole lot of each other by then. The family home was too big, empty and cold without his mothers energy to infuse it with warmth and happiness.

He wasn't happy.

"What the Hel!? How on earth are ye meant to be presentable like that?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"I'll cover it with makeup."

As though ensuring that definitely happened, his dad got one of the professional hair-and-makeup people from his office staff to come over and teach Hiccup how to ensure it was perfectly masked. Stoick would come to regret that choice.

With that skill taught, Hiccup continued to alter his body. He got an old-school Viking shield on his other arm, in memory of his grandfather. On something of a whim - and _maybe_ a drunken dare from his best friend, Hiccup got a dragon bite on the other cheek of his backside, to match the dragons head already there. His father hugely regretted entering Hiccup's room without knocking, finding his son laid on his stomach, jeans and underwear pulled down to let the healing tattoo get some air.

"What is that?"

"That, daddy dearest, is a dragon bite."

His dad opened and closed his mouth several times, then walked out again with no further words. Hiccup laughed to himself, picked up his pencil and carried on doodling motorcycle designs.

Next on his list came a... _personal_ piercing. Hiccup didn't tell his dad about that one. When was _that_ going to come up in conversation? Each addition Hiccup made to his body made him a little more comfortable, starting to feel like he finally belonged to himself. Every thing made him a little more at home in his own skin.

The next bust up with his dad came along with Hiccup opting to get his lip pierced. After that, his tongue. They made funny noises when his tongue stud clinked against his lip ring. He definitely didn't get one caught on the other... more than once. Honest. Hiccup was taught how to cover the hole left by removing the ring for his father's bloody events, and that fight died down.

Tattoos next made their way onto his hands, the biomechanical design covering half his forearms too. As soon as they healed, he wore makeup over them whenever he was home with his dad, cleaning it off when he went to the garage to breathe free, to be himself again. Every time he left, it became harder to put that mask on, the facade of normality.

For his twentieth birthday? Hiccup got his face tattooed. It was small, a little dragon slumping over one eyebrow. It was adorable, and Hiccup lost countless hours just raising his eyebrow to watch the little dragon move.

He also got his motorcycle license at last. He didn't own a bike yet, but Hiccup was certified to ride it when he did.

Things with his dad were more strained than ever. Hiccup sighed into the mirror, suit already strapped into place as he dabbed makeup on to his eyebrow-dragon. Without his lip ring, his tattoo... Hiccup didn't recognise himself. It wasn't _him._ It was the sanitised version, the acceptable one. Checking the coverup on his hands was still in place, Hiccup tilted his neck, checked that was covered too. Looking longingly at the metal ring on his bathroom sink side, Hiccup adjusted his tie. His mothers eyes looked back at him in the mirror.

What was he _doing?_ Was this what Valka had envisioned when she begged Hiccup to be happy six years ago?

He was miserable. Only felt free when he was around people who didn't care he'd put art on his skin and metal through his flesh. When talking about motorcycles or archery didn't get him looked at like a delinquent. When he wasn't judged solely by his fathers merit. Hiccup felt like a stranger to himself.

Forcing himself down the stairs, his legs felt like lead. Every step toward the hubbub of people talking politics, toward dozens of people who measured a persons value by their conformity to 'the plan' - education, marriage, money, children - and by peoples last name... Hiccup wanted to cry. His feet landed at the bottom of the stairs, people walking past without even noticing him there. Why would they? He was just another blank face in a black suit.

He caught sight of his father. The look in the mans face said it all.

This was pointless. He would never be who Stoick wanted him to be.

Hiccup went back upstairs. He tossed the suit aside, scrubbed the makeup from his face, his hands, his neck. He replaced the metal in his lip. Opening his wardrobe, Hiccup pushed aside the 'presentable' clothes and grabbed his favourite jeans, t-shirt and jacket. Dressing, Hiccup moved around his room, throwing clothes and other essentials into a duffel bag.

Then he grabbed his backpack, loading that with more fragile things, more important things. Like photos, or things they'd made together when he was younger. Like the saving book his mother left him. Hiccup didn't want to have to come back. If he was going, he was _gone._

For a touch of the dramatic (he blamed his mother entirely for that too, her flair unmistakable) Hiccup added eyeliner, ruffled his hair, looked back at that trouble-makers face in the mirror.

And finally saw himself again.

Shrugging on his backpack, Hiccup glanced around, bade farewell to the place that hadn't felt like home in the six years since his mom died. Then he grabbed the duffel, unhooked his dad's house key from his key chain, then headed back down the stairs.

 _Now_ they noticed him. Whispers and murmurs and and shocked gasps, silence spreading from the epicenter that was Hiccup in leather. Finally, his father stomped over, looking Hiccup up and down. He'd never seen the full ensemble before; Hiccup kept it toned down so his dad wouldn't push him harder.

"What are you doing son?"

Hiccup held up the key, tossed it to his dad.

"I'm out. This isn't me. And this isn't what mom wanted for me,"

He walked out. Every step felt like _flying,_ like freedom, like a sickening weight lifted from his shoulders. Hiccup put his stuff in his car - his mothers old set of wheels, comfortable and familiar - and started it up. Easing the old faithful out of the sea of huge, expensive, ostentatious status symbols, the open road beckoned. Hiccup steered it along the familiar route, pulling up outside his friends house.

"Eret!"

Tattooed face appearing at the window, Eret ambled outside in a pair of shorts, clutching a beer and rubbing his messy hair.

"Hey Hiccup! What's up?"

"That offer of your spare room still open?"

"Always buddy. Come on in."

Eret was his sanctuary, his best friend. Had known how desperately unhappy Hiccup was, always let him seek refuge in the garage his cousin Ug owned, and said if Hiccup ever wanted to bail, Eret's spare room was his.

For the first time in six years, Hiccup was _free._ He stopped covering his tattoos, stopped taking out his piercings. Began training properly as a mechanic under Eret, using some of the money his mother stashed away for him growing up for exactly what it was meant for - following his dreams. Hiccup took engineering classes, learnt to build engines from scratch. His artistic talent helped him massively; another thing to thank Valka for, her artist streak running through him.

He didn't hate Stoick. If anything, he loved his dad. He just didn't _like_ him. Didn't want to be nothing more than a measure of success for his father. So Hiccup got a new tattoo; a miniature version of their old family crest on his face. It was important enough to display proudly.

Ironically, he rather faded from the public eye after his open vanishing act.

Hiccup was happy that way. He wasn't the Mayor's son out there in the garage, practicing on old write-off wrecks how to build a bike from the scrapheap upward. He hung out with Eret and the rest of his Sami family, people who valued community and respect and heart. It was the happiest he'd been since his mother got sick. Repairing motorcycles to earn his keep there was exactly what he wanted to do.

Learning to build them, customising them... it was his _dream._

Hiccup built his own bike from the ground up. Every penny he spent went into building his own set up, training, setting up premises next to Eret's family garage. He built his reputation alongside bikes, became known for doing custom jobs. People brought him specifications, paid him to bring their ideas to life. He worked his ass off to get where he was in only a couple of years.

So when those rich kids at Astrid's college walked past, avoiding him, muttering about him, Hiccup let it simply glide over him and wash away. They had _no idea_ how much he'd gone through just to get there, leant against his beautiful bike, waiting for his girlfriend. As he waited for the tell-tale flash of golden blonde hair, Hiccup mused on how they'd met.

He'd been riding back late one night, having recently finished the mammoth project that was building and shaping and _balancing_ the damned demon wheels beneath him. It had been hard, but when he straddled the dragon and took off? So, so worth it. Naturally, Hiccup's first response was to take it out as far as the fuel tank would take him, refuel and head home.

Flying down a deserted road, Hiccup saw someone pulled over at the side of the road. Being a mechanic, with tools on hand - a maiden voyage, it would be stupid not to have his kit with him - he was going to offer to help. They were over ninety minutes from anywhere civilised. If they were out of petrol, he could give them a ride to get some, or even go himself.

The woman in the car let him know, in no uncertain terms, that Hiccup could get lost. She'd called the roadside rescue.

Hiccup didn't blame her - he was in his riding leathers, face and hands covered in ink, messy hair, massive bike. He probably looked intimidating out there in the middle of nowhere, and she was alone. Though, judging by her sailor-esque language despite that fancy car? Hiccup doubted she needed anyone taking care of her.

"Look. Stay in your car. But I am not leaving someone out here alone in the middle of nowhere. I'll stay here on my bike until your road service get here."

As they sat there in silence, Hiccup couldn't help but notice how very very pretty she was. She had a torch in her car - smart - and was using it to light the inside of the vehicle. It highlighted big blue eyes, fixed with suspicion on him. Soft pink lips, attractive even as they frowned. Her hair was a shade of liquid gold Hiccup had never seen before, tied in an elegant braid slung over her left shoulder, the same side as her fringe framing her face.

Hiccup mimed for her to roll down the window a touch, just enough that they could hear each other again.

"What's your name?"

"Bite me."

"Well hi biteme. I thought my parents pulled a cruel prank with my name. I'm Hiccup."

The blonde blinked.

"Seriously?"

"I can show you ID if you like. I am Hiccup Haddock the third."

Hiccup wasn't sure how his dad had ever expected him to be taken seriously politically with a name like Hiccup, but, well, he wasn't the first Hiccup.

"Astrid. My name is Astrid."

"Hey Astrid. You hungry? Or do you keep snacks next to that torch?"

Astrid was still looking at him suspiciously, but less so than before.

"Whaddya got?"

Smiling, Hiccup opened up his side compartment - in the wing on the side no heat vented off near. Every detail was crafted by him perfectly, after all. It was sized to fit a spare helmet, but it also held a backpack easily enough.

"Water, diet coke, and a bar of... salted caramel chocolate? Come on Eret, you fancy bastard."

He'd grabbed snacks from the fridge on his way out, stopped for a proper meal a few hours ago. Astrid was definitely interested.

"I'll take the chocolate and water."

"You'll have to roll down a little more."

Astrid did; he handed her the chocolate and water, then backed away. Finally, she smiled.

Hiccup was pretty sure he fell in love there and then.

"My favourite."

"You're in luck. I stole it from my roommate."

At last, he seemed to have broken the ice. Astrid still wouldn't let him fix her car, even though he probably could have had her back on the road in ten minutes. She chewed her spoils, took a drink of water and then beckoned him over. He got half his chocolate back.

"I thought it was your favourite."

"It is. But I don't want to feel sick."

Hiccup took a bite, unsure what was so special about salted caramel over caramel. Still, the chocolate was nice. He unzipped his leather jacket, slung it over his dragons tail. Astrid looked at him again, blinking.

Then she got out of the car.

"I didn't expect you to be so skinny under those leathers."

Hiccup looked down, forgetting that the sturdy rider gear bulked him out. She could see the tattoos on his hands and arms more clearly too, bringing the torch out with her.

"Oh. Yeah. Are you cold?"

He held out his jacket, watched her shrug it on half-reluctantly, then lean against the hood of her car. She was slender, but he could see the definition of muscles in her forearms before the jacket covered them.

"Where were you heading?"

"Home. You?"

"Same here. Taking my dragon for its maiden flight."

Astrid cocked her head, examining the shape properly.

"You just bought it?"

"I built it. The whole thing."

"Wow. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed."

"Thanks."

Her brow furrowed, rubbing her chin.

"Haddock... isn't the city mayor a Haddock?"

"He's my father. I'm the family embarrassment."

Hiccup spread his hands, displaying his tattooed skin with a smile.

"Hey, you stopped to help a stranger in need... I think. That's no embarrassment."

She _still_ wouldn't let him fix her car. But Astrid engaged him in conversation, on everything from engines and bikes to books, films and politics. Not that either of them lingered on politics, but Hiccup knew someone who fact checked rather than swallowed fake news when he saw it, after years of hearing both sides at parties.

They talked the whole time. The whole _two hours_ until the road service turned up. As Hiccup expected, they spent ten minutes doing exactly what he would have done, and Astrid's car purred back to life again. Then it was just the two of them again. Astrid handed over his jacket. And her phone number.

"Thanks for staying with me."

"Any time."

Hiccup smiled to himself at the memories, the angel in his thoughts appearing before his very eyes.

"Afternoon milady."

"Hey there troublemaker."

Gods, he loved this girl. She tossed him a wink, a smile, then her hands were around his neck as they kissed. Astrid saw through the rough outside, she saw through who his father was. He saw through the rich girl exterior, the golden girl who performed for her parents. And they liked what they saw. They separated, that same smile Hiccup was captured by six months back when they first met on that dark road stretching across her face.

Hiccup heard them whispering. Muttering. And even those in silence were probably thinking the same things that were being said.

That he wasn't good enough for her.

That he'd ruin her life, drag down her reputation.

What sort of dates did they have? Was he just using her for sex? Were they doing drugs in dodgy bars?

Watching her helmet up, Hiccup smiled to himself as he put on his own helmet and pondered. They _had_ gone to a bar or two. Astrid's idea. She wanted to rebel a little, just for a night or two. Hel, Hiccup had gotten plenty out of it - his girlfriend made one damn sexy vampire. Feeling her arms slide around his waist, gripping tight as the bike moved, Hiccup pictured their plans; Astrid was all his for a week. Eret was off to meet his girlfriends parents. Their place was empty, and she was off college for summer. Plus, they had a date somewhere nobody would expect.

"Hold on tight."

-HTTYD-

 **I started this intending to write the intro... four hours ago. Here's a complete chapter!**

 **(story of my life hahaha)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Recovering from my own tattoo inspired me to return to this tattooed Hiccup... so enjoy the finale.**

 **(this is no longer the smutty chapter) (but I haven't removed anything that isn't actual sex cus they're such fun flirts)**

 **The song isn't mentioned in this chapter, but unofficial song of this fic is Sunrise Avenue - Dreamer.**

 **(I like Sunrise Avenue you might've noticed)**

-HTTYD-

Astrid perched on the stool, chewing absently on a fruit and nut bar while she watched her boyfriend work. A couple of days in the garage was a small trade off for Eret leaving the two alone in the house he shared with Hiccup for a week... especially when watching Hiccup working amounted to Astrid's own personal pornography. Tattooed hands and dextrous fingers working even the most intricate pieces of metal, Hiccup's skin bare beneath his overalls (Astrid decided that was intentional torture) showing the sweep of his lean frame, that _gorgeous_ owl on his chest.

And his concentration face... it was dangerously close to the face Hiccup pulled in bed when he was laser-focused on making Astrid a mindless wreck. She loved the smell of metal and leather and oil, loved Hiccup's little grunts as he worked. And the view of his cute ass when he bent over the car he was working on? _Spectacular._

So yes... Astrid did _not_ mind a couple of days hanging out with her boyfriend while he worked. Especially when the garage was one of the few places she got to hang out in where there was zero expectations on _her._ The worst Astrid had to deal with there was a grease smudge on her arm or a guy coming to pick up his car hitting on her. She'd take that over hearing her parents drone on about scholarships and grades and 'the plan', before disappearing and reminding Astrid that they cared a little too much about achievements and not enough about Astrid herself.

Hiccup didn't give a shit what her grades were. Oh, he clapped and enthused and told her he was _proud_ when she did well on a test or nailed a project, and Astrid basked in his praise. But if she said she was quitting education to become a pole dancer, Hiccup would support that and probably come watch every single night. Hel, he'd probably build her her own pole.

"I will forever be stunned at the damage people do to their cars... still, it's repairable. This guy is gonna have a hefty bill though."

"You done for the day babe?"

"I just need to replace a few parts in that beamer over there, but half hour tops and then we can go pick up stuff for dinner?"

Nodding, Astrid resumed watching the gorgeous creature at work. He slid his overalls down when done, only wearing jeans that hung deliciously low on his narrow hips underneath. She could see the only new tattoo he'd gotten in the last six months; it was one she bet he _wouldn't_ do. Hiccup had called his tattooist up the very next day, and texted Astrid a picture of it completed from the studio, then another when he got home and dropped his trousers to air it out...

It was a line of dashes, forming a mock 'treasure map' image along the skin his waistband usually sat on, with a large red X sat just above, well, the _treasure_ to be found. Astrid still laughed when she remembered him taking the bet, and she had definitely honoured her side of the wager - oral every night for a week. She probably would have done it anyway, but fair was fair. Hiccup even pouted and insisted he needed kissing better. Daft creature.

She ran her fingers along the line, Hiccup's eyes following as she unbuttoned his jeans, tugging the fabric down to reveal the end of the map.

"X marks the spot?"

"Well, depends what sorta treasure you're looking for milady."

Before Astrid could jump on him all sweaty and dirty and ridiculously tempting, there was a shrill beep that signalled a customer ringing the doorbell at the front of the garage. Hiccup sighed dramatically, winked at Astrid and rebuttoned his jeans.

"We'll finish the treasure hunt at my place."

Astrid watched as he walked to the front, admiring the dragon on his back with the most exquisite detailing - it could have just been a big black blob with vague wing shapes, but instead it had shades of grey, little flickers of white to bring a three-dimensional look to individual scales, to the muscles and flexors in its wings. Hiccup answered the door shirtless - giving someone a pleasant surprise, Astrid imagined.

"Really? Alright, let me just check there's no other issue."

Hiccup returned to Astrid a few minutes later, pleading puppy eyes full of apologies.

"Staying?"

"Another half hour. They're willing to pay double to be on the road as soon as possible, and it's not a difficult job."

"Hey, I like watching you work. Go right ahead."

Watching Hiccup work quickly and effectively, Astrid was more than ready to have him quick and rough in someone else's back seat, but he gave her the _look._ The one that reminded her he considered that terribly unprofessional. She hadn't even said anything, but he knew. Besides which... Hiccup **definitely** made it worth the wait when they got back to his.

Lying on his stomach, Hiccup fixed a messy, satisfied Astrid with his pretty green eyes.

"Ready for the fun fair tomorrow?"

Celebrating the end of the academic year - and throwing nonsense like what was acceptable adult behaviour to the bin where it belonged - they were off to one of those travelling funfairs a couple of towns over. Hiccup had brought it up originally because it was fairytale/mythical-creature themed, and he liked those sorts of things. His dragon tattoos were a testament to that. Astrid was equally captured by the prospect - it sounded _amazing._ And it would be full of other people just there to have a good time, to enjoy the summer and have some fun.

"Definitely. But first, I need a shower. Coming?"

Hiccup grinned, leaping out of bed happily. They made it back to bed, and even eventually got around to going to sleep. Despite apparently looking like he bathed in baby blood and hurt small animals for fun - both things strangers had said to Hiccup when he was out and about - he was actually the _sweetest_ guy Astrid had ever met. He loved animals, didn't even kill spiders. He volunteered with a local wildlife charity, and Astrid had once been out with college friends and saw him helping plant flowers that pollinators like bees loved in the local park - of course, that was before anybody but Heather knew they were dating, and she'd heard people comment that the man with all that ink and metal looked completely out of place surrounded by nature.

Astrid knew first impressions could be wrong; she'd thought he looked intimidating the first time they encountered each other. Now she knew he was a lovable idiot who liked cuddles and baking cookies. She was definitely thankful she'd taken the leap and handed her number to him that night, that he'd called to ask her out the next day.

The funfair was, on first impressions, disgustingly _pink._ Hiccup looked hilariously odd in his black, black and more black, checking their helmets and jackets into the cloak room stand there before they ventured a little further in and purchased wristbands to let them on all the rides. Hiccup's fingers slid through hers, his nails painted black to match the kohl smudged around his eyes. Gods, he was gorgeous. Astrid was almost as attracted to his flagrant disregard for society and its rules as she was his perfect ass.

Astrid was dressed a little more casually, but if someone compared the girl who worked tirelessly to maintain perfect everything to the one currently laughing as Hiccup gave wary, sidelong glances to someone armed with _glitter_ they might be a little surprised. Even more so that the rebel goth boy was the one who suggested the funfair to begin with.

"I never did trust a fairy."

"Well, then you shouldn't have picked a _fairytale_ themed place."

Hiccup glared, but soon broke into a smile, pulling Astrid in to peck a kiss on her lips.

"Come on milady, there is a lot of fun to be packed in to the day. And undoubtedly lots of sideshow games for you to kick my ass at."

"Damn straight. If you're good I might kiss it better later."

He chuckled, hand sliding down to squeeze Astrid's backside before he slipped away, leaving her disappointed before she remembered they were in _public_ and that he couldn't simply continue to touch her. They just walked around at first, laughing at the way people gave Hiccup funny looks. Even more so when he challenged Astrid to the 'Feed the Unicorns' game, where they had to hurl golden apples into a fairly narrow gap within a unicorns mouth. Astrid's aim was slightly better, but Hiccup had daily practice calculating space and angles and sizes, and so he won that round. She stopped caring when he claimed kisses from her pouting lips as his prize, then dropped a daft fluffy necklace over her head from the stalls prizes.

"Come on, lots more games for you to try and win."

Astrid won at 'Find Your Prince!' - a simple duck-fishing game, but with frogs instead of ducks and different Disney prince faces on the bottoms. Even if she hadn't won at the stall, Astrid reckoned she had done much better than some straight laced prince in fancy clothes - she liked her rebel boyfriend with a tattooed ass and riding leathers. She'd take his thick, messy hair over a slicked back quiff full of hair products any day.

He won at Tiara Toss - like every other ring toss game, except the rings were tiaras and Hiccup placed the sparkly head-wear on as a lark until Astrid fell about laughing. Then he landed them over the toughest bottles perfectly. Smug git.

Astrid trounced his score at the Test Your Strength game. Hiccup practiclally swooned; she could practically see the cartoon hearts in his eyes. He never cared Astrid was ridiculously strong, seemed rather fond of that, actually... Shaking off inappropriate thoughts, Astrid jumped in surprise when he pressed against her back, kissed her jaw and murmured that it was hot watching her wield a hammer. Then he left her again, smile playful and eyes challenging as they moved on with her already primed to jump him.

They stopped for a nutritious meal of candy floss and candied apples. Hiccup had to keep picking bits of sprinkle off his lip ring, and kissed her sticky lips whenever he felt like it. Astrid knew she was _ruining_ her usual mindful eating patterns, but she didn't care. This was their time, and it was time free of any responsibility other than having fun. Hiccup fed her unicorn marshmallows, laughed when she licked his fingers, sucked in a sharp breath when she sucked on his fingertips, bit teasingly at his thumb.

"Minx."

"You love it."

Clearly in the mood for a little revenge, Hiccup pulled her close and brushed his lips against hers, rough pad of his thumb stroking the sensitive curve of her throat until Astrid shivered. Oh, that was nice...

"Come on! There's a dragon to ride."

His hand left her neck, slid down her arm to grab her hand and left Astrid bereft of that nice touch from before. Damnit!

"I'll ride you in a minute."

Hiccup quirked an eyebrow, his little tattoo rising with it.

"Is that meant to be a threat?"

"Yep."

He laughed, shaking his head as they headed toward the coaster. It wasn't quite as wild and fearsome as it sounded, but Hiccup loved an adrenaline surge and managed to drag his nails over her inner thigh while everyone was busy screaming, drowning out her choked moan at his touch on such sensitive skin. Combined with the speed and height, Astrid was a little... _flustered_ when they disembarked from that ride.

Her revenge was asking one of the ridiculously dressed fairies to douse his black clothes in glitter.

It didn't really help - firstly, he looked _adorable._ And secondly, Astrid still wanted to mount him. Hiccup pouted cutely, plucking at his black t-shirt and shaking off a few specks of glitter but it was fruitless; he sparkled now.

They found some respite from pink and fluffy everything, ending up in a maze built largely out of straw bales. They got lost a half dozen times, and Astrid seriously considered finding a dead end and risking getting caught when Hiccup took every chance they were alone to tease her with a kiss, a touch, a muttered promise about _later._

Alas, it was not to be. A group of evil villains chased them, armed with water pistols and water balloons, and the only place they were safe from soaking was the center of the maze. Grabbing Hiccup's hand, they took off running. It was in vain, and by the time they reached the middle, both of them were dripping wet. Hiccup was eyeing the way Astrid's clothes clung to her skin with blatant hunger, heat in his gaze putting the beating sun above to shame. His mouth was rough and hungry against hers, hair dripping onto her face as Astrid clung to him.

Someone actually threw another water balloon at them, forcing the two apart.

"Hey!"

"Figured it was like a cold shower, you two were veering toward public indecency."

Too turned on to even care that they had gotten carried away and called out, Astrid leant up and bit his neck; she'd have bitten his ear, but the metal plugs there weren't really appealing to clutch at with her teeth.

"We're leaving. _Now."_

Hiccup shook his head, plucking at her wet t-shirt.

"We'll freeze on the bike like this. It's still hot out, we'll dry quick. Food? Then we can go."

Astrid agreed begrudgingly, if only so they would have the fuel for a long, energetic encounter later. Leaving the maze, Astrid allowed herself to be led to a little cafe where all the tables were round, and the menu was written in 'Ye Olde English'. The woman who took their orders looked at Hiccup like he might brandish a weapon any minute now, but he had eyes only for Astrid. And a cupcake, with spindly little sugar-wings for decoration. They sat outside to dry off more as they ate - Astrid made a note to ask what sort of eyeliner he was using, because despite a water balloon to the face it hadn't even _moved_ from its usual place - and by the time she'd finished her hefty, meaty sandwich, Astrid was dry.

Well... mostly.

"Done?"

Hiccup looked down at his 'dragon soup' (Astrid was pretty sure it was slightly spicy soup with food colouring in) that was mostly empty, then nodded. They returned their plate and bowl, then headed off to pick up jackets, helmets and Hiccup's dragon.

Astrid contemplated their day as she was zipping up the jacket; it had been completely mad, and largely just pointless fun. And she'd adored it all. Her parents had only ever taken Astrid to educational places growing up; museums, farms, a castle or two. It hadn't ever been just about having _fun,_ and Astrid hadn't realised how stifled that left her feeling until today. Even if she was glad to have developed her drive, her work ethic - and Astrid had _every_ intention of succeeding, excelling, learning - she knew that all work and no play was not the way to go.

Hiccup straddled his bike, turned back to look at Astrid before his helmet went on. He was far too attractive in his leathers. Astrid was already squirming, uncomfortably aroused. The vibrations rolling through the bike beneath her didn't help. It was incredibly tempting to reach down and grope Hiccup, but even in her lusting state Astrid remembered that would be very dangerous, and they definitely couldn't fuck while hospitalised for injuries sustained by Astrid recklessly distracting Hiccup on his bike.

Astrid barely waited for Hiccup to park the bike in the garage he and Eret shared - it was almost bigger than the bloody house, holding Eret's car and then each mans motorcycle - before she leapt on him, biting kisses on his mouth as she stripped him of his leather jacket. T-shirt gone quickly too, a shower of glitter fell to the floor with it, revealing the owl on his chest. Astrid kissed at it, lips tracing feathers and feeling his heart quicken beneath.

"Hey, I'm thinking I might get my nipples pierced sometime soon. But obviously I need you on board as you'll have to leave them alone for a while."

Contemplating it as she indeed lowered her head a little to play with his nipple - Hiccup was so wonderfully sensitive, responsive, intoxicating to touch - Astrid hummed against his skin.

"I think you'd look hot with them pierced. And I could control myself for a while, so long as there was an end date in sight."

She winked, biting again at his chest playfully and enjoying the way Hiccup groaned, threading his fingers through her hair as she applied suction. Her fingers traced the sides of his dragon wings, the line of his daft treasure map tattoo, dipping down into his waistband and feeling the twitch of anticipation there. Dropping properly to her knees, Astrid smirked up at Hiccup before sliding down his bottoms, underwear coming down too soon after.

They spooned cosily in the afterglow, his arm over her waist and his hair tickling her neck. She felt the metal of his lip ring on her shoulder, warm from his ragged breaths as he kissed her skin.

"I love you."

Astrid smiled.

"I love you too."

They stayed entwined that way for a while, the hand stroking her belly absently quite an amusing image - all those components, metal and wires and gears, inked upon the skin contrasting with her blank, pale stomach. Well, blank save for an appendectomy scar from her childhood that was pretty much flat, blending with her skin. Hiccup could still find it without looking, running a finger over it before he turned her on her back, leant down to kiss her sweetly.

"Do you ever regret this?"

Astrid looked up at him, baffled.

"What are you talking about?"

"This. Us. Me. I know I'm not exactly the guy your parents expect you to bring home one day."

Frowning, Astrid shook her head. Tracing the little dragon over his eyebrow, she ran a finger down the side of his face, smiling when he turned his head to kiss her wrist.

"I love that you're different. I love that you're mad and you got a freaking bite mark and a treasure map as tattoos. I love that you took the huge risk and ran out on an easy, simple choice to follow your fathers footsteps, that you opted to be true to yourself. I love that you catch spiders and put them outside, and how you go out planting flowers and feeding stray dogs. If I wanted normality, I wouldn't have given my number to the dragon-riding weirdo who wouldn't leave me alone at the roadside."

Hiccup smiled, leaning down to kiss her again. Still sensing doubt, Astrid wound her hand into his hair, holding him there so she could meet his eyes.

"As for what my parents expect? Screw expectations."

-HTTYD-

 **This was so fluffy it could have passed for unicorn marshmallows... well, we're done! Hope you enjoyed this lil slice of rebel!cup.**


	4. Chapter 4

**If you read a lot of my work, you'll be familiar with two aspects of this authors note.**

 **Secret bonus chapter! And that it's being written because I can't sleep!**

 **Future-chap. Featuring lyrics I credit to Billy Joel, but if I'm wrong someone can correct me on that.**

 **(and to the reviewer who thinks all teenagers who got tattoos and piercings end up on drugs or drink... fuck you. Meet less boring people and stop tarring everyone who doesn't fall into the standard walk of life with the same brush. As a tattooed, pierced person who is teetotal and never touched drugs, and who knows lots of other people who fall into the same categories, I can tell you you need to broaden your horizons.)**

-HTTYD-

Constantly topless - not that Astrid minded terribly - Hiccup was airing out his back tattoo, recently touched up to cover fading patches that were common as the inkwork aged. He danced around the kitchen, making her laugh with his daft faces as he twirled a wooden spoon in his hands and mimed singing in to it along with the radio.

"You are completely ridiculous."

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

He winked, scratching the side of his jaw where stubble didn't quite mask the tattoo beneath, a unicorn of all things. Astrid smiled when she saw it - it was a testament to a date they'd had early on in their relationship, one they repeated whenever the same fair came around even now.

Hiccup had never outgrown the desire to alter his body, and there was a lot less blank skin left on him than back when Astrid first met him. Not that he'd had tons of blank skin back then either, already covered by the massive back piece and more. Since then, he had about a dozen more tattoos, and several more piercings. Both his nipples bore metal bars, though he wore rings in them sometimes. The one ring in his lip had a matching twin on the opposite side, which Astrid was reliably informed were called 'snake bites', though she had no clue why. He also had a second stud to join the one already in his tongue, following the vertical line in the middle.

A couple of piercings had come and gone, depending on how Hiccup tolerated them during work or whether he didn't like how they looked. He'd had his septum pierced, but it caught when he wore a mask for spray painting, and so that one had gone. There had been one at the top of his cheek bone that Hiccup called an anti eyebrow piercing, but it got in the way when he wore goggles, and he'd had his actual eyebrow pierced but didn't like the way it looked after a couple of months.

Astrid's personal favourite of his new piercings surprised even her - he got his belly button pierced, and she loved it. In the back of her mind, she'd always associated it with being a very... _female_ thing, but as soon as Hiccup mentioned he was getting it, she realised that was nonsense. And now she loved that little sparkle on his stomach. Near that piercing, one of Hiccup's most meaningful tattoos had come to rest - a reindeer, in honour of Eret and his Sami family for taking him in when Hiccup ran out on his father, on that pre-arranged life that he had never wanted.

The other side of his stomach was a dedication to Astrid - a slightly cartoonish diploma. That was an homage to everything he had done for her, back when she first took Hiccup home to meet her parents.

Angry wasn't the word. Incensed. Apoplectic. Devastated. It was like Astrid had literally brought home a serial killer and told her parents she was offering them to him.

They'd given her an ultimatum there and then. If she didn't drop Hiccup, they would throw her out and cut her off financially. Hiccup didn't even get mad; in front of her parents, he gave her the _choice._ She could leave him, go live her life, and he wouldn't take it personally. Or she could go with him, and he'd support her financially while Astrid went to law school. By then, his business was doing well and Hiccup could afford such an offer.

Within half an hour, Eret had driven over - Astrid couldn't pack up her things and get them back on Hiccup's motorcycle - and said she was always welcome in the men's home. Her parents had clearly never expected her to go through with it, and her mother pulled Astrid aside before she actually walked out, said if she ever realised what a mistake she was making by going with Hiccup, that she could come home. Astrid pulled away, walked out to where Hiccup waited.

"Ready to go home milady?"

Astrid nodded. Smiled. Clambered up on the back of the bike so they could follow Eret back to her new home. Since they refused to let her pay rent, Astrid helped by doing the books for the garage and Hiccup's custom shop, since she was better at maths than most of them and already had an understanding of law. She spent her weekends surrounded by cars, or getting merrily tipsy around camp fires of a night with a group of people she would probably never have even _met_ if not for the stubborn biker who stopped to help her by the roadside. She loved it.

True to his word, Hiccup worked like an absolute demon to keep his business going, growing, and Astrid left law school with zero in student debt because of him. His presence at her graduation was hilarious, he and the Hunter family a very distinctive little pocket of people with ink on their faces, all jumping and cheering with much more vigour when Astrid crossed the stage.

"I'm so proud of you."

"I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you Hiccup."

He waved her off, kissed her, told her he loved her. Then stole her mortarboard and started strutting around like a complete idiot. Gods, did she love that idiot. The rest of her by-choice-family rushed to congratulate her too, Astrid in her gown looking small and formal compared to broad tattooed bikers who barely took off their leathers to turn up.

Hiccup was even happy for Astrid when her parents reached out, wanting to reconnect when they saw that Hiccup had made good on his promise, that he was more than the rough mechanic look suggested. As an apology and repayment? Her father even put money into Hiccup's custom shop and Eret's garage, enabling both to expand and upgrade here and there.

"We misjudged you, and I'm sorry Hiccup. I can see you're very good for my daughter."

Smiling, Hiccup shook Mr Hofferson's smooth, unworked hand with his inked, calloused one.

"She's very good for me. And don't worry, I'm used to the way people react to me. But I know Astrid will be happy to have you back in her life."

Even now, Hiccup hadn't reconnected with his father. He left it to his dad to reach out - it wasn't exactly a secret where Hiccup lived and worked - and Stoick didn't. Hiccup didn't let it bring him down, but Astrid knew part of him missed his dad. His family mattered enough to put on his face, for Thor's sake. And Astrid knew her lover kept tabs on his dad, being a public figure meaning it was easy to look him up online for regular updates on his life.

Once Astrid began working, the couple began putting money into something else, though they had a lot of help which meant their costs stayed pretty low - the empty land half a mile from Hiccup's shop was gifted to them by Eret's father, to build their very own home. Half of Eret's family - _their family_ \- were some kind of builder, plumber, bricklayer and so on. They were a family who liked to get busy with their hands. Eret's mom taught Astrid how to chop wood with an axe. It was _awesome._

Their own personal home was nearing completion - a couple of upstairs rooms were still bare brick, but the house was livable. And it felt more like theirs every single day - Hiccup already looked completely at home in the kitchen, larking about as he was prone to. His sense of fun never faded.

"Oh hey, its our song!"

Rolling her eyes, Astrid let Hiccup pull her away from her law book to muck about for five minutes. He kept her from stagnating, reminded her how much more fun life could be if she took a breather.

 _Uptown girl_  
 _She's been living in her uptown world_  
 _I bet she's never had a backstreet guy_  
 _I bet her mama never told her why_

Hiccup thought he was terribly funny applying that song to her, a throwback to how they'd come from different worlds. Although at the same time, they'd had startlingly similar beginnings. But Hiccup had chosen to walk out on it, then been there to catch Astrid when her parents couldn't accept her quirky rebel boyfriend.

 _I'm gonna try for an uptown girl_

 _She's been living in her white bread world_  
 _As long as anyone with hot blood can_  
 _And now she's looking for a downtown man_  
 _That's what I am_

She'd certainly never been looking for someone like him before, but now Astrid could not imagine coming home to a guy who wore a suit all day like she did, who had stories like 'the printer at work broke' rather than 'someone with a ferret on a leash came in today to have me add a basket to their bike for it'. And as for hot blood... Astrid definitely loved that Hiccup had been her perfect match in bed too.

 _And when she knows_  
 _What she wants from her time_  
 _And when she wakes up_  
 _And makes up her mind_

 _She'll see I'm not so tough_  
 _Just because_  
 _I'm in love with an uptown girl_

Hiccup saw _her._ Not the Astrid that had been how she presented to everybody else, but the Astrid who both wanted to succeed in life and also not become a boring, stale old woman who regretted never having an adventure in her life. He knew what it was to feel stifled, suppressed, alienated. Hiccup had strived to never let Astrid feel the same thing.

And in turn, she saw _him._ Past the intimidating figure he'd cut in the dark that night, to the sweet and tender human beneath. Who made her feel so loved, cherished. She was so lucky he'd stopped that night, else when would they ever have met?

 _You know I've seen her in her uptown world_  
 _She's getting tired of her high class toys_  
 _And all her presents from her uptown boys_  
 _She's got a choice_

Letting him dance her around the kitchen, Astrid was in fits of laughter before the song was even over, turning when they saw Eret coming through the open kitchen door, waving to the two of them.

"Afternoon slacker."

"It's my day off!"

"I know, but we just got three cars in the space of half an hour."

Laughing to himself, Hiccup gestured to the oven.

"Let me finish lunch and then I'll be over."

"You're a lifesaver H. Looking good Astrid."

Eret winked, roguish grin on his face. He'd always been a flirt - he even flirted with Hiccup. It was how he was, and he'd never crossed a line, made a move on Astrid.

"You look terrible."

"Oh, you wound me!"

"I will if you don't go away."

Chuckling, Eret turned to head back to work. Hiccup leant down and kissed Astrid's smiling lips, then sighed reluctantly before he resumed making them lunch. He'd never say no when the Hunter garage needed help; he wouldn't be where he was without them. Eret had taught him to be a mechanic, after all.

"Don't worry about it babe. I have to study this case law for next week anyway."

"Yeah, I know. I just like the cute faces you pull when you study."

After a quick lunch, Hiccup kissed her again, left her dizzy with the faint ghost of cool metal on her lips as he grabbed his overalls from by the door and jogged off toward the garage. Sitting back at the table with a dopey smile that would not go away, Astrid tried to focus back on her work. Her boss wouldn't be happy if she was unprepared for court because of her boyfriend being too cute.

* * *

"You know you don't have to do this for me."

"I know. I want to."

Hiccup hadn't worn a suit since he left that function his dad was throwing, over ten years ago now. If he was doing this, he was going to do it right. He'd gone and got professionally fitted, had his colours picked to match Astrid's outfit. Though, Hiccup did have a short sleeve shirt beneath the jacket and waistcoat, so if he took off his top layer then his ink-filled arms would be completely visible.

Astrid was looking at him with avid interest as Hiccup fixed his collar, clearly a fan of how he 'cleaned up'. Hiccup couldn't deny eyeing her with similar interest - she looked sensational in her dress, blue eyes sparkling as she beamed when he turned and presented himself to her in a 'how do I look?' gesture.

"Ready to go?"

Unlike all the times before when he'd donned a suit, Hiccup had no makeup other than his habitual eyeliner on. His piercings were all still in. The tattoos on his hands and face and neck were all uncovered. He'd shaved, but only so the little unicorn tattoo on his jaw was visible. And his hair was as hopeless as ever. They walked out so Hiccup could put his boots on, and then they were ready to get going.

"You off then guys?"

Eret and his girlfriend were out on the field between their place and Hiccup and Astrid's, so they saw the two leaving and came over to say goodbye.

"Yep. Wish me luck."

Not touching him in case he dirtied the suit, Eret gave him a reassuring smile.

"You'll be fine. Everyone will be so distracted by how hot your girl looks they won't even notice you."

His girlfriend rolled his eyes. Hiccup was amazed the first time he met the new lady in his friends life about four years back - mostly because Astrid knew her. She and Heather had been at college together, but lost touch when Astrid and her family fell out.

"It's a good job I know that's just how you talk or I'd be tempted to kick your ass."

"If you want, you can do it anyway."

Eret waggled his eyebrows, grinning cheekily. Heather rolled her eyes again, then gave Astrid the up-and-down look.

"You do look great. We'll catch you guys later."

"Yeah."

They slid into Astrid's car - they could hardly take Hiccup's bike. Well, they could, but they'd turn up to the thing looking like they'd just tumbled out of a bush after a public indiscretion. Not that Hiccup considered that a bad thing, but he was already about to make a statement and a half by showing up at all.

"You don't have to cover up your tattoos for this you know. Well... except that one on your butt. That one does things to my self control."

Hiccup chuckled as Astrid's mouth twisted into a thoughtful pout, remembering the first time she saw the dragon bite on his ass. She'd _bit_ him herself, and when Hiccup turned to look at her in question, she giggled and gave him her most innocent face.

"It's not like I'm the first!"

They headed off, the journey sickeningly familiar despite all the time that had passed. It looked the same as it had when he left. Driveway full of expensive, flashy cars, the garden dead save for a couple of flowers maintained by the home help. His mother had been the one who kept the garden healthy, green, full of life.

The bulk of the man squeezed into a suit that probably fit him twenty pounds ago was equally familiar, beard longer and greying from the middle outward. His recognition of Hiccup was instant, but clearly and equally stunned.

"What're you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too dad. And I believe you told my fiancee she could bring a plus one."

Hiccup circled the car, opened Astrid's door and helped her out. She smiled up at him, then turned to face Stoick.

Astrid was the youngest person ever to be raised to Senior Crown Advocate, gaining a fierce reputation for working tricky, sensitive and complex cases in court. So she was invited along to this function that was celebrating the legal system or something. She'd been prepared to turn it down, but Hiccup had been the one to insist - it was good for her career to go to these things. He knew some things in life were as much _who_ you knew as _what_ you knew.

She'd asked if he wanted to come. Hiccup had initially been horrified, then realised he could be something else entirely; touched, honoured that Astrid was proud enough to display him at her side. Even in front of his father - she knew everything that had happened, but even after she rebuilt bridges with her own parents, Astrid never tried to push him to do the same with his dad.

" _You_ are her fiance?"

"Yeah. We've been dating for... what, nine years now?"

"Ten next month, I think."

Marriage hadn't really been discussed, and Hiccup had realised Astrid was respecting how utterly un-traditional he was and not pushing it. So he proposed on their seventh anniversary out of the blue. Astrid accepted happily, but there was no rush to get down the aisle. Or however else they ended up actually tying the knot.

Stunned into near-silence, Stoick bristled, then turned and gruffly indicated they should go in. Astrid slid her hand through Hiccup's, squeezed gently and offered him a bolstering smile.

"You sure about this?"

"Only if you are. It's not my professional reputation on the line here."

Astrid frowned, shaking her head.

"I'd like to see anyone take a shot at my reputation, I'm a damn good prosecutor and advocate and that is all they are _allowed_ to care about. Come on handsome. Let's go rock some worlds."

An eerie silence swept through when they walked in. Hiccup wondered how many of these people even knew he was Stoick's son.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

That was Astrid, snarking slightly on his behalf as everyone muttered amongst themselves.

"Who is he?"

One person finally felt brave enough to address them directly.

"He's my fiance. Is that a problem?"

Hiccup kept his cool; Astrid didn't need him defending her, she was capable of snapping back quick and hard all by herself, but after so long being able to live a life separate from stuffy, judgmental people, it was tough to not just walk out and say 'fuck it' to those clinging to societies rules. Still, not everybody there avoided him like getting too close would cause him to start speaking in tongues. Astrid seemed to recognise the lady who was brave enough to approach.

"I'm Atali."

"Hi. I'm Hiccup."

 _That_ got everyones attention. He might have faded from view years ago, but most people knew his dad had a son with the inherited name of his great-grandfather. People turned to search for Stoick, who was still eyeing Hiccup like he might explode.

"Is that your son?"

After a minute, Stoick nodded. There was actually a dramatic gasp. Hiccup felt like he was in a soap opera.

"How does a delinquent like you end up with the youngest senior advocate in Britain?"

"I'm not a delinquent. I run my own business, for one."

"Which let him put me through law school to begin with."

Hiccup was used to stares, but he didn't like the way everyone was looking so disbelieving. He didn't see why it was a big deal he paid for Astrid's degree - it was his fault her parents decided not to, after all.

"You did?"

His dad looked more surprised than anyone. Hiccup nodded.

"Yep. Is everyone going to stare the whole time?"

Mollified, people began to look away at last, starting conversations with each other. Astrid and Atali struck up a conversation, but Hiccup was keenly aware the entire time that his father was watching him. A couple of other people edged closer, one even asking him about motorcycles. He didn't quite relax, but the thickest of tensions seemed to have passed at last.

Astrid started having fun, and they caused something of a scene when they proved they could dance well together. Hiccup loved the way Astrid's cheeks flushed with the exertion, how she smiled up at him so prettily. Everyone else ceased to matter with the girl he loved in his arms, twirling and stepping and all that essential eye contact. After the dancing though, Hiccup turned to his fiancee.

"I need some air."

"You ok babe?"

"Yeah. Just too used to open plan buildings now. Stay, mingle. I'll only be outside."

Nodding, Astrid stretched up and kissed him, squeezed him reassuringly. Hiccup headed outside, gravel of the drive crunching under his boots as he paced a little, breathing in fresh air and feeling a breeze sweep over his skin. That was _much_ better.

"Hiccup."

Jumping slightly - he hadn't heard anything opening or closing, didn't realise he had company - Hiccup turned and saw his dad standing there.

"Dad."

Hiccup wasn't ignorant of the traits he'd inherited from his father - stubbornness being one. They'd ignored each other completely for over ten years now. They were father and son, but they barely knew each other.

"Why did you have to put Astrid through school? I know her family. They have money."

"They kicked her out for dating me. I got paid back when they realised I wasn't going to ruin her life, and they patched things up."

He didn't add the 'unlike us' that lingered on his tongue, instead resuming his staring out at what had once been a gorgeous, floral paradise. Now it was just a manicured lawn, barely any life to it.

"I ne'er did have yer mothers knack for plants."

"Well, you've never been delicate."

They stood there in silence for what felt like hours, but Hiccup knew was likely just a couple of minutes.

"How did you two meet?"

"You mean me and Astrid?" Stoick nodded "I'd just finished building my bike. Took it out on a long ride, and on the way back I saw someone who's car had broken down. I had to bribe her with chocolate to not think I was a murderer. She wouldn't let me fix her car, but that turned out to be a good thing."

"How?"

"We spent two hours talking while she waited for the roadside assistance. When we were setting off, she gave me her number. The rest, as they say, is history."

If there was one thing Hiccup would tell to anybody who listened, it was definitely how he met the girl of his dreams. Astrid was incredible, and he knew every single day how gods-damned lucky he was to have her in his life.

"Can we talk? Properly?"

The words left his father in a rush, probably because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to bring himself to say it. Hiccup frowned, thinking. He'd built a new life, a new family, his business and his relationships - all alone. He didn't need his dad in his life. They were almost strangers.

"Yeah. Ok."

Maybe he didn't _need_ his dad in his life anymore.

But he wanted him there.

-HTTYD-

 **Ok. _Now_ we're done! Hope you enjoyed the bonus chapter :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**For those who voted in the poll, it was a close one! Expectations, Geek and Taboo all rolled in and out of top spot, but when I hit like 60 total votes I called it quits and here we are with the winner.**

 **Expectations!**

-HTTYD-

He was laid on his back, eyes closed, one arm bent so he could rest his head on his hand. Hiccup could not have looked more at ease, the newest addition to his ever-more-inked skin being added, Astrid knew he didn't find the process painless, but he seemed completely able to just slip into a peaceful headspace as the needle buzzed, painting permanent sweeps of colour and black in their wake. The little glint of metal in his navel still made Astrid smile, much like the little dotted map that vanished beneath his waistband. Astrid was fond of all his tattoos, but some held higher rank in her heart, or produced a significantly more... _visceral_ response from her.

"You know you don't have to do this milady?"

"I'm fine. Just waiting my turn."

Hiccup nodded, pierced lips stretching into a warm smile. His hair was still ridiculous, he still wore eyeliner and tight leather jeans even though he was past thirty years of age. Astrid still loved that about him. Well, she'd have to. They were there to get tattoos that celebrated their marriage, after all. The bands she wore on her finger were simple, but _so_ meaningful, she knew. Their engagement had been a surprise - her boyfriend was never the traditional sort. And then Hiccup had given her his mothers old wedding ring. He'd lost her when he was barely a teenager, but Hiccup had carried her dying wish to always do what made him happy with him ever since. Astrid saw the wistful gaze when he talked about her still. Had held him when he cried because she couldn't be at his wedding.

Now he was her _husband._ Gods, that wild creature who appeared on a dark night road and refused to leave her by herself, who supported Astrid through her parents throwing her out, through law school, through countless hours where she must have been snappy and irritable and overworked. He'd stood proud at her side and faced his dad after over a decade, just because Astrid asked him to. The rebel boy on a dragon motorcycle had matured into a man, but Astrid had definitely known she was still marrying a rebel who loved bikes.

"Do I even dare ask the logic behind this one?"

Hiccup's tattooist finally spoke, having been focused on imprinting the words and image on his skin perfectly. Not that Hiccup had a whole lot of free space left - he'd had more scales put on his thighs last year, increasing the draconic look beneath his jeans. Still, there had been some free space on the side of his ribs, which was meant to be painful but he barely looked like he'd felt a thing as the tattooist wiped away blood and excess ink, gestured for Hiccup to hop up and go check it out in the mirror. He twisted his body in an unfairly attractive manner, winking at Astrid in his reflection as he looked at it from all angles.

"It's perfect. Not that I had any doubts Mala. And yes, you can ask. It's from our song."

Even as she'd agreed to the tattoos, Astrid had rolled her eyes fondly at Hiccup's suggestion. Letting the blonde woman with the tattoo gun rub some kind of balm on him, HIccup stretched, then hissed and winced.

"Yep. That hurt."

"Well, what did you expect?"

The skin around his new tattoo was swollen, tender-looking but the tattoo itself was utterly flawless. Hel, this woman might be the only one to have seen almost as much of Hiccup's body as Astrid. It seemed fair compensation for the incredible imagery she had imprinted on Hiccup.

"Are you next?"

"You can back out Astrid. Don't think you have to do this for me. I love you even without tattoos."

"Given that we're now married, I should damn well hope so. Now be quiet, or I'll kick you out before I take off my shirt."

Hiccup promptly shut up, even mimed locking his mouth shut as he perched on the chair Astrid had been sat in. It made her stomach flutter still, how openly eager Hiccup was to see her something as tame as shirtless - he'd seen her naked thousands of times by then, and Astrid was no longer the tight-bodied twenty-something she used to be. But that had never changed the way Hiccup looked at her. Shedding the loose, comfortable shirt, Astrid squirmed at the cold sensation of whatever was rubbed on her to cleanse her skin, then again to make the stencil take.

"How is that?"

It looked about right, so Astrid nodded, following Mala back to the chair and tried to settle comfortably.

"Are you ready?"

"Do you want to hold my hand Astrid?"

She stuck her tongue out at Hiccup, nodded at Mala and braced herself. It _hurt,_ but Astrid knew it wouldn't take terribly long, and she'd suffered worse pains. Probably. Dear gods, why had Hiccup put himself through this dozens of times? Forcing herself to sit still and take the pain, Astrid resolved not to look, focusing on anything but the sharp pain in her side, relieved when she saw the needles going for inks in yellow and gold out of the corner of her eye. Halfway done. Sort of. He didn't say anything, but Hiccup walked over and slid his hand through hers anyway, smiled reassuringly when she squeezed at a particular scratchy part.

"You are done! You sat very well."

"Thanks."

It was over? Already? Astrid felt sure she was going to be tortured a little longer. She barely waited to be wiped down before bounding over to the mirror, craning to see it from every which way, amazed that it was all of a sudden finished, permanently a part of her...

"Do you get this rush every time?"

"Yep. Every single one. Happy?"

"More than. Come here, show me yours."

Hiccup smiled, indulging her and standing with his arm raised so Astrid could compare the two almost identical inkings - two gold bands each, linked, joined. Looping over the rings in an elegant scrawl, Hiccup's said 'Uptown Girl' while Astrid's said 'Downtown Man'.

"Well, yet more of my finest work. Happy, both of you?"

"You exceed my expectations yet again Mala. We thank you."

Paid and redressed, the two left with twin smiles and occasional winces as movement pulled the tender skin. They headed home, where Eret - now engaged to Heather himself - stuck his head out of the garage and immediately demanded to be allowed to see.

"Nice! And a little quirky. Definitely suits you two."

"Thanks Eret. We're gonna head in before you get grease on them."

Eret feigned a dramatic gasp.

"I would never!"

Astrid rolled her eyes fondly at the cheeky Sami mechanic, crossing the field until they reached she and Hiccup's home. Top layers shed again - it was hardly something everyone nearby hadn't seen before, Astrid in a bra or bikini top - they aired out the fresh ink, doors and windows open to let a breeze wash through. Hiccup still liked his space, his freedom. Hated feeling stifled. She watched him stretch, mindful of the fresh ink but luxuriating in the sanctuary of their home. The walls were covered in mostly-Hiccup's art works, a little oasis of organisation around Astrid's desk, a shelf full of law books - it was one of many, but most were confined to her study.

The dragon on his back flexed as he moved, every movement bringing a different tattoo into view. Hiccup was very, very colourful to look at, puttering around the kitchen and setting up cups on the side to make their drinks. While Astrid wasn't looking, Hiccup had clearly gotten into the music library, familiar tune reaching her ears as she turned back around to see his feigned-innocence expression.

 _Uptown girl_  
 _She's been living in her uptown world_  
 _I bet she's never had a backstreet guy_  
 _I bet her mama never told her why_

Rolling her eyes, Astrid still reached for his outstretched hand, let him pull her close.

"You are completely ridiculous."

He chuckled, twirling her idly to the music before leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

-HTTYD-

 **Hopefully this lil slice of bonus makes someone happy!**


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